The Moondance International Film Festival is much more than an annual film festival! It is a unique community, a supportive, productive, and creative year-round collaboration between independent filmmakers and movie audiences, between writers, composers and the world of top-quality filmed entertainment.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) famously said (way, way before computers, cameras & the Internet were in use), “If you want to change the world, pick up a pen and write.” And that’s exactly what we want to accomplish at the Moondance! We hope to change the world by inspiring universal stories and themes. Our ultimate goal is to connect talented writers, filmmakers & composers with industry insiders who can make dreams a reality.

Filmmakers have a chance to create a sequel to or a short film inspired by “Thelma & Louise,” which stars Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon and is turning 25 this year. Sponsored by the Utah Film Commission and Zions Bank, winners will receive $5,000 and a screening at the next Sundance Film Festival Women’s Leadership Celebration. The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)

Brit Marling of Sundance TV’s “Babylon” believes female writers are helping turn the tide for women in Hollywood. “Watching Kristen Wiig and Lena Dunham and a lot of women take the reins and be like, ‘I’m not finding the characters that I need. I’m just going to sit down and write them,'” is bringing about the shift, Marling said while speaking on a panel at the Sundance Film Festival.

MOONDANCERS WRITE TO US:

“Moondance Is unique. It seems to vivify good things to everyone who comes into contact with it. I simply mean its encouragement and open arms to creativity, across the globe, dazzles me with its generosity, chutzpah and reach. The award I won does indeed open doors! The Manhattan Theatre Club in New York, and the Geffen Theatre in L.A. both asked for submissions. I am sure it was paid attention to because of your name and the festival’s impact.” ~ Gino Matteo, writer, Moondance 2014 winner for “Nellie”

“I’ve entered screenplays in your festival three or four times and it has been a blast!! Thanks for all the work you do to make it a rich experience.” ~ Jack Vendargriff, screenwriter

“Moondance is a personal first choice of mine, since your festival is so intimate and has such a great reputation for quality!” ~ Marlane Barnes, filmmaker

MOONDANCE RECOMMENDS:

For all you “Downton Abbey” fans, here’s a clever, wry & fun spoof on the show, played by many of the regular cast members:

新 年 乐

Wishing you a very happy, healthy, and productive Chinese Lunar New Year of the Goat! February 19, 2015.Chinese Zodiac signs… lucky people born under the sign of the goat are elegant, charming, artistic, gentle, gifted, peace–loving, kind-hearted, honest, compassionate, and are fond of nature!

MOONDANCE 2015 CALL-FOR-ENTRIES!

REGULAR DEADLINE: MAY 30 *

For your best chance to win, send in your entry early!

LATE DEADLINE: JUNE 30 *

* These deadlines are postmark or received via email attachment, NOT the date submitted by!

Rahman Altin, for the award-winning feature film from Turkey, “The Butterfly’s Dream”

MOONDANCE INSIDER TIPS:

MAKING A GREAT PROMOTIONAL FILM TRAILER:

Do you want to have a really good 2-3-minute trailer to send to producers, studios, and/or film festival competitions, for your website & in social media ?

Haven’t quite finished post on your film yet, but want to promote it now and/or solicit funding for your film?

Great trailers are in a special class of their own; little polished gems that showcase your film, and make people want to see more! But film trailers can be more difficult to make really well than the entire film, itself. It can be more time-consuming, judicious editing must be a main concern, you have to tell the main story, theme & concept quickly, harder scene decisions need to be made, and you need to sell your film in less than three minutes.

Can you tell the main story, introduce the lead characters, show the main conflict, and give the viewer a visual, memorable impression OF THE STORY & CHARACTERS in three minutes? And, remember, you need to hook the viewer in the first few seconds! You probably don’t even have a full 3 minutes to do the job, unless the first 30-60 seconds are fantastic.

You need to know how to turn your great story into a great 2-3-minute (or less) trailer. There is and always has been only one real secret to success in the entertainment industry. Tell a great story. Period. And you need to figure out how to tell that fabulous story in only two to three minutes or less! READ MORE HERE!

Every other month, InkTip Magazine is sent to nearly 15,000 producers and reps. They avidly look through it to find good scripts and writers and then contact writers through the site to option or purchase their scripts, or represent them.

That means nearly 15,000 producers, agents and managers will get your titles & loglines on their desks and in their inboxes!

The needs of the world are vast, but so too are our many resources. One of humanity’s most valuable resources is young global leadership impacting positive social change, which this foundation endeavors to support. The Luce and Dudley families have had a long and historical commitment to youth, education, and social improvement in the United States and around the world. I aspire to continue this family tradition through the grants, awards, and publications of The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation – playing a role, however humble, in bettering humanity. My goal is uplifting the worst of humanity while celebrating the best of humanity – especially the arts. Support our efforts here.

“FIRING THE EMPEROR’S KILN”

Meet Le Le & David Burns, of Shanghai, China, film director/producers, and winners of a best short documentary film at Moondance 2014. Come follow their journey as they make this important film about an especially interesting piece of Chinese heritage, Beijing’s Forbidden City’s “Golden Bricks”, a 2015 documentary film about this endangered craft of ancient Chinese cultural heritage, still in use today. Please visit their CineCrowd page to support them to produce this important film project, in exchange for some exciting rewards, and make a vital step toward preserving one of China’s most fascinating crafts on film, before it is lost forever…

Amy Lyndon is Hollywood’s premiere Booking Coach and creator of the revolutionary “The Lyndon Technique: The 15 Guideline Map To Booking.” Amy Lyndon currently has 38 Network Series Regulars, and an Emmy Winner – all trained in The Lyndon Technique. She was also voted one of the Best Cold Reading Teachers in Los Angeles – Backstage Magazine for 4 Years! a Multi-Award-winning Filmmaker, Director, Actor and International Booking Coach for close to 20 years, Lyndon is at the top of her game.

The Lyndon Technique proves to be a practical & successful approach to auditioning and booking the acting job, on the first take. Lyndon’s Technique has literally helped 1000’s of Actors around the globe learn what it takes to get into the 1% ratio of working actors and run a successful business.

“However difficult life can seem to be, there is always something you can do and succeed at.” ~ Stephen Hawking

“On Spaceship Earth, there are no passengers; all of us are members of the crew. We have moved into an age in which everybody’s activities affect everyone else.” ~ Marshall McLuhan

“Take a moment to ask yourself if you’re on track with you. Now is the time to take responsibility for your own life and to love yourself enough to take the action required. Take responsibility for what you are doing. You are the captain of your own ship. You can do it for you.” ~ Amy Lyndon, acting coach, The Lyndon Technique

Illustration by Maurice Sendak from “Open House for Butterflies” by Ruth Krauss.

“Failure is not the only punishment for laziness; there are also the successes of others to consider.” ~ Jules Renard

Do you want to have a really good 2-3-minute trailer to send to producers, studios, and/or film festival competitions, for your website & in social media ?

Haven’t quite finished post on your film yet, but want to promote it now and/or solicit funding for your film?

Great trailers are in a special class of their own; little polished gems that showcase your film, and make people want to see more! But film trailers can be more difficult to make really well than the entire film, itself. It can be more time-consuming, judicious editing must be a main concern, you have to tell the main story, theme & concept quickly, harder scene decisions need to be made, and you need to sell your film in less than three minutes.

Can you tell the main story, introduce the lead characters, show the main conflict, and give the viewer a visual, memorable impression OF THE STORY & CHARACTERS in three minutes? And, remember, you need to hook the viewer in the first few seconds! You probably don’t even have a full 3 minutes to do the job, unless the first 30-60 seconds are fantastic.

You need to know how to turn your great story into a great 2-3-minute (or less) trailer. There is and always has been only one real secret to success in the entertainment industry. Tell a great story. Period. And you need to figure out how to tell that fabulous story in only two to three minutes or less! READ MORE HERE!

Send in your entry as soon as possible, rather than waiting for the last day of the entry deadline.

Send your film in the format required by the festival. If they ask for a preview DVD in NTSC format, don’t send a PAL format.

DO NOT ATTACH A PAPER LABEL DIRECTLY TO THE FACE OF THE DVD! Paper labels very often cause the DVD to stop, stick, and/or pixillate.

Have the title and other info printed onto the DVD, or handwrite it with a marker pen. Remember, some festivals (not Moondance!) will just toss your DVD, unwatched, if it stops, sticks, and/or pixilates, and not even bother to let you know there was a problem.

Have a DVD or Blu-ray copy of your film ready to send if the festival wants to screen it in one of those formats. Don’t make the festival wait while you try to get back your lone screener from another festival!

When you are asked to send your film in another format for screening at the festival, remember to enclose an SASE (or money for US postage) or your FedEx number, if you want the screener returned to you.

For mailing: Package your screener safely, and send it, and with your WAB tracking number on the DVD or the box (or entry form, release form, & entry fee, if not via WAB) in one envelope or box, if using WAB’s submission service.

Do not use those padded envelopes filled with grey shredded kapok, as it can damage DVD. It also makes a big mess when opened. Use correct postage.

Do not send the submission as registered mail. This often requires the person at the festival who gets the notice of registered mail to go to the post office & stand in line to sign for it. Usually, the mail carrier will not leave the package if no-one is available to sign for it, and it may be sent back to you.

US post offices have a good option: Delivery Confirmation notice. It’s a lot less expensive than registered mail & you can track the package online, to see when it was delivered, and even get a print-out that it was delivered properly, for your records. If you want a confirmation that your submission was received, please send (with your submission package) an attached post card with US postage (if entering a US competition). Write on the postcard: your name and address in the mail-to area, and on the back or in the message area, write: (name of festival) has received the film (title of your entry) on this date_________. Or request email confirmation. Do not send an SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) with your submission for return of your preview video or DVD, if the festival or competition announces that they will not return preview submissions. You’ll be wasting the postage.

If you are sending your film to the US from another country, note on the customs declaration that the film has no (or $1) commercial value, or is a commercial sample, so the film festival is not charged a customs fee, in which case, the festival will probably refuse to accept your entry at all, and it will be discarded by the post office or returned to you.

Please remember to write the WAB tracking number on the DVD and the box, not just on the mailing envelope, , if using WAB’s submission service.

Entry fees: Attach the check or money-order with a paper-clip (don’t staple it in) to the front of the official entry form, if you have not paid via WAB. If it’s for a US festival or competition, make sure the funds are in US dollars.

Don’t just toss the entry fee into the bottom of the envelope. When sending a money-order, write your name on it, so we know who it’s from. When sending a check from someone else or a production company, write your name and the title of the submission on it, for the same reason.

If you change your address, phone number or e-mail address, please let the festival know this right away, so they can contact you if your film is selected for screening. Send e-mail addresses for all others who may want to be notified of the film’s status in the contest.

If required for previews, send several publicity stills via e-mail, or a CD Rom with titled stills of your film in the submission package. If not required for previews, don’t send publicity materials.

If your film is selected for screening, the festival will want to use a still for their print program and media promo. Use the best quality photos you have.

Labeling your film: Please label the jewel-box or sleeve the DVD or film comes in, as well as printing the info on the DVD. The festival needs the following information on all film labels: Title of film, name of filmmaker, format, running time of film & genre (narrative feature or short, documentary, animation, etc.).

Plan your film production budget to include film festival entry fees as the main method of marketing your film and your work.

Don’t ask the film festival to waive or reduce the entry fee for you. If the festival has a scholarship program available, it will be announced, and you can apply for it. Most film festivals are made possible by the entry fees collected.

Do not call, write or email the film festival to see if they’ve watched your film and if they liked it. Do not ask for comments or critiques unless the festival has announced they will give them.

If you want a written or oral critique on your film and the festival offers it, and charges a fee for that, add that amount to your entry fee.

If your film should be a finalist or winner, or is selected for screening at the film festival, plan to attend the screening and participate in the festival by watching others’ films, too, as a courtesy to both the film festival that is promoting your film and to the other filmmakers.

If your film is not in English (for a US festival), do not have it dubbed into English. Use English subtitles, instead. Most festivals will not screen a dubbed film.

HAVE A GREAT, EYE-CATCHING TITLE FOR YOUR FILM! The title should be memorable and unique, whether it’s a narrative fiction feature, a short, a documentary or animation. Have a great opening scene and first 5 or 10 minutes.

Don’t start your film with these two all-too-common openings: Shot of a bedroom, guy or woman in bed asleep, alarm clock rings, hand reaches out to shut off alarm, clock falls to floor, anonymous feet pad to the bathroom. OR: camera pans across a mantle or table or wall filled with family photos, showing viewer who the story is about. Been done a million times. Be creative! Do something unique!

Make sure your film has a story. Even if it’s a documentary, it must have a story to follow and keep the viewer’s interest. Select a really good screenplay or story that will be of interest to festival directors AND the potential festival audience who will pay for tickets!

Have a fantastic, memorable, original film score.

If you are the director, be sure to utilize good cinematography, lighting, sound, costumes, hair, makeup, locations, music, sets and props.

Make sure the film’s lighting and sound is the same value throughout each scene. Production values count as much as the story, editing and acting.

Block out blue light, so your film’s colors are natural.

DIRECT your actors. The actors shouldn’t be perceived as reading their lines and hitting their marks. They should not even be acting, but should BE the character, thinking and feeling and reacting, as the character.

For documentary films, try to avoid all those “talking heads”. Use voice-over visuals to tell your story as much as possible.

Edit so that the film segues seamlessly and always flows forward. Edit out all but the gem of the story. Film credits shouldn’t be longer than the film! Please keep them short and sweet, and moving quickly. Consider adding the credits to the end of the film, rather than at the opening. Make them interesting, visually, and with music.If your film should be a finalist or winner, or is selected for screening at the film festival, plan

Make your film as short as possible. Consider ruthlessly cutting that 60-minute documentary to 30 minutes! Make sure your entire submission package is festival- friendly!

“A good writer needs to know what it’s like, and “it” can be just about anything. We have far too many writers today who have never ridden a horse, or fired a gun, or sharpened a knife, or fought with their fists, or been shot at. And so on and so on.” ~ Gene Wolfe, science fiction & fantasy writer, interview in a Barnes & Noble book review.

“Write what you know” is the vital, traditional message for all fiction and non-fiction writers, screenwriters, playwrights and journalists. You need to know the details, the visuals, the emotions, the reactions to events, and the totality of the experience, in order to write coherently about a subject, and action, a character and his or her dialog, and for your reader, or audience to relate to the story, the character and the action.

If you don’t know anything, or very little, about a subject, do deep research, learn about it from others, ask an expert, read about it online or in books, go experience it yourself, pay attention as you go through your daily life, listen and look, remember what you’ve seen, heard, learned and experienced, then use it in your writing. It’s a vital element of your “job” as a writer. You would never be hired by any company if you didn’t know anything about the job and had no experience in the work required!

Expand your knowledge and your experiences beyond your desk and computer. Go on out there and see the world, watch and listen to other people, experience other events than usual. Learn to tango, ride a horse, go to a rodeo, cook a foreign dish, go for a long hike in the woods, join a political group, plant an organic garden, build a snow sculpture or sand castle, surf the waves, swim with wild dolphins, visit with the elderly in a nursing home, practice yoga, learn to meditate, shop at a farmer’s market, volunteer to work with an environmental group, attend a lecture, go to a museum or an art gallery, study improv acting, travel to a foreign country, play hide-and-seek with a child, listen to teenagers to learn their lingo, sit in on an Al-Anon meeting, pick apples from a tree, chat with some homeless folks, go on an archaeological expedition, and, above all, remember and use your past, discover your roots. Don’t just rely on movies, TV, social media and the Internet for your writing ideas…that’s not necessarily real life!

Screenwriters absolutely need to know how movies are made, what goes into the project, the budget considerations, and how and why scripts are selected by agents, investors, producers, directors and actors. You also need to know what story, style and subject matter different potential clients want to see. A script is merely a story, a blueprint for a film. Imagine an architect designing a building properly, if he or she knows nothing at all about what the client wants, the details, the budget, and how the blueprint is ultimately selected by the client, is paid for and built by the contractors!

To learn how and why a script is selected and made into a movie, a TV show, or a stageplay, you can volunteer to work as an intern at a production company. Read scripts that have been rejected or successfully produced, and pay attention to why they work or don’t work. You can audition for a part in a film or show, even as an extra, or apply for work on the crew. Direct your own short film. Attend professional workshops and seminars on writing and filmmaking. Networking is another very important method of learning about the film business from all aspects, and for getting your work and talents noticed.

Most importantly, keep writing and experiencing as many aspects of life as you can! Write in different genres to expand your knowledge and talents. Are you a writer of drama? Write a great comedy! Romance writer? Write a scary mystery or an action story. Sci-fi writer? Write a contemporary romance or drama. Have at least 3 to 5 completed, edited and polished screenplays to show. Create fabulous loglines and one-page synopses for all of them. And get an agent, any agent.

Attention all writers, filmmakers, composers, indie film audiences, colleagues, and friends of Moondance, internationally:In honor of freedom of speech and a strong belief in dynamic artistic expression, the Moondance International Film Festival continues to entertain, educate, reach out, nurture, inspire, award, recognize, promote equality and non-violent conflict resolution, and to encourage talented, creative voices around the world to freely express positive and productive projects in any medium. We actively promote and support non-violent conflict resolution and seek viable alternatives to solving conflicts.

Moondance International Film Festival is now fully active for this season’s call for entries.

A listing of your script on InkTip so that producers and reps can find you. InkTip helps writers sell their scripts and get representation. Producers have made more than 200 films from scripts and writers they found through InkTip!